Why the Cow’s Neck has Loose Skin
Why the Cow’s Neck has Loose Skin
A Filipino Tale… Adapted by Navin
Once upon a time, there lived a mean farmer. He always denigrating his animals and employees alike. One day, he was strolling through the market and decided he 
needed some new work animals.
Two friends, a cow and a buffalo, were on sale in that very market. They looked with anticipation at the marketgoers strolling by.
“Do you think today is the day Cow?” asked Buffalo, “Will we finally be sold and find home today?”
“I think so Buffalo!” exclaimed Cow, “Look there! That kindly looking farmer is stopping at our stall! And now he’s paying the stall-keeper!” “Hooray!” bellowed Buffalo, “We’re being sold to our wonderful forever home!”
Their hopes were ruthlessly dashed as the farmer drove the animals home with a heavy stick.
A few weeks later, the Buffalo and Cow were miserable. The farmer worked them from before dawn til after dusk. Their only peaceful moment was when they were asleep. The farmer woke them every day by splashing a bucket of cold water on their sleeping forms.
One cold night, the Buffalo sat looking at the Cow. “Er, do you have something to say?” asked the Cow.
“I’ve been thinking,” meandered Buffalo, “Should we run away?”
“Yes,” burst out the Cow, “I’ve started to wonder the same thing, but I’ve worried that you wouldn’t agree with such a dangerous plan!”
The friends decided to leave that very moment. They crept through the farmyard, around the dark farmhouse, and finally reached the road. They then began a mad flight away from the farm. They galloped for hours, and the sky slowly became lighter. The friends were terrified that the farmer would be after them. Around noon, they saw a clean, cool pond by the road. They were by this time hundreds of miles from the farm, and felt that they were definitely safe. They took off their clothes and dove into the water for a refreshing swim.
“I’m so glad we decided to escape! We’re free! What’s wrong?” asked the cow, saying this last as she saw Buffalo’s face pale. “Look there!” Buffalo exclaimed! To their horror, they saw the farmer pelting up the road with a huge club. “How could he possibly have caught us?!” yelled Cow. “Who cares, RUN!” responded Buffalo. 
The pair hurriedly got out of the pond, put on the clothes and continued their escape. In their rush, Cow put on Buffalo’s dress and Buffalo wore Cow’s dress. They eventually escaped the farmer, who tired and returned home. However, to this day Cow has some loose folds around her neck because Buffalo’s dress was a larger size than she fit in.
